Putnam plans to limit food trucks and carts

Sunday

Aug 6, 2017 at 3:23 PMAug 6, 2017 at 3:23 PM

Francesca Kefalas For The Bulletin

PUTNAM — A new vendor ordinance is coming to town meeting to allow food trucks and carts in Simonzi Park.

The ordinance is meant to clarify a previous ordinance that made it unclear where the mobile food locations could do business. However, it also scales back the areas. The town meeting will be held Aug. 14.

“We’re really finishing a process that was started well over a year ago,” said Deputy Mayor Alma Morey.

The General Government Subcommittee of the Board of Selectmen, which Morey leads, sent a new version to the Recreation Commission, which also approved the changes, and then passed it along to the Board of Selectmen. The selectmen sent the ordinance to town meeting.

The need to revisit the ordinance has come up because of confusion over where mobile food vendors could be located and concern from some of the brick and mortar eateries in town.

“When we first decided to allow food trucks it was the restaurants that didn’t want anybody selling anything near them,” said Selectman Owen Tarr, who is also chairman of the Recreation Commission. “That’s why we took a look at the locations again.”

Ilse and Clinton Richmond of Pomfret have taken all the necessary steps to acquire a vendor’s license and sell bubble tea and edamame from a cart. They have parked that cart in the Union Square parking lot during some events, such as First Fridays.

“It’s a cart that we build and we sell organic soybeans that we grow on our own farm and that goes with the bubble tea,” Ilse Richmond said.

Richmond said she offers a variety of bubble teas and it is not a product sold elsewhere in downtown Putnam.

“It’s very addictive,” she said.

Morey said the first ordinance never was intended to allow mobile food vendors in the heart of downtown. However, Putnam Chief of Police Rick Hayes said it does.

“We’re not stopping anyone who has the proper permits from setting up in Union Square or any other municipal parking area because the ordinance says they can,” Hayes said.

Tarr said it was the opposition from the brick and mortar restaurants that fueled the decision to allow the mobile food vendors only in Simonzi Park.

Town Administrator Mary Calorio said the Richmonds have gone above and beyond to ensure they have all the proper permits. The ordinance, however, does not affect special events, such as River Fire, where mobile food vendors can be found much closer to Rotary Park.

Morey said the new ordinance also makes clear that food vendors have to follow the town’s zoning regulations for signs.

“We wanted to make sure the ordinance doesn’t need to be changed any time there’s a zoning change,” Morey said. “And we want to make sure these mobile locations are safe. We can’t have signage hanging out into the street.”